Writing with Grade School Children What I love about our team of after-schooling parents (Those of us that believe strongly in providing educational opportunities to our grade school children at home) Little Wonder Days, Mouse Grows Mouse Learns, Just Playin' Around, Mama Smiles, Superheroes and Princesses, The Educators' Spin On It, and What Do We Do All Day is that each and everyone does amazing things with their children! I get great ideas from them each week and they inspire me to be a ... Read more...
Tot School – Autumn and the Play Challenge
This week we brought out the ribbon dancing rings (home-made from canning jar rings and ribbon) and made harvest crowns. My harvest king had a blast dancing to music and spinning around! We painted and ripped paper! He is very into cooking and wants to help me all the time. Sometimes, instead of letting him cook with me, we bring out all the pots and he pretends to cook all on his own. He even hears me walk into the kitchen and runs yelling, "cook, cook, cook!" We have not let him touch ... Read more...
Little Hands that Cook with Books: Owl Pizza
WHOOOO wants to cook? The theme for Cooking Class today was Owls! We read this adorable book about this little baby owl who didn't want to go out with his parents in the night. He meets new friends each night who teach him many ways that the night is special including stars, fireworks, campfires, and even when Santa comes. The book is The Owl Who is Afraid of the Dark by Jill Tomlinson and illustrated by Paul Howard. Your little ones will truly enjoy this story, especially now ... Read more...
Fall Sight Word Games and Activities
Learning to read is a process that is spread out over many years. No one program or activity will teach your child how to read. It is a combination of developing a love for reading and teaching different aspects of reading that will help your child learn. You are your child’s first and most important teacher. You know how your child will learn best and will be able to adapt these different activities to fit their needs and abilities. Each child learns at his own pace and I believe that we ... Read more...
Tot School Make a Fall Painting with Your Toddler this Autumn
Red, orange and yellow. Bring out the fall colors with this fall painting project for toddlers. Best for children 2 years and older Learning Objectives: Explores a variety of materials. Names the colors. Affiliate links Make a Fall Painting with Your Toddler Toddlers are great at running and climbing. They love to explore the world and find out how things move. They need to make and create things with their hands, but are not quite ready for "crafts" in the traditional sense. 1 ... Read more...
Afterschool Express: Using Playtime for Writing Inspiration
We had a great time celebrating Halloween over the past week. Every story time seemed to involve books that are thematic to Fall and Halloween. My daughter has been running around with her costume and horse the past week pretending to be Jessie from Toy Story. I created a post this week about the Important of Dramatic Play with our children, please Check it out here! Making real life connections to literacy is so important at this age. Using all of this playtime experience, we took some ... Read more...
Wood floors and coffee cake – the Natural Playscape Way
What I love about natural playscapes is that they are always changing. Bamboo rods can be turned into almost anything with the help of an amazing husband and dad. Inspiring Creativity with Natural Playscapes This is what their "house" looked like in the morning. But, by the late afternoon, things really got cooking! My daughter called me to help make her a broom from palm fronds. She said, "I must keep our hard wood floors nice and tidy!" I couldn't agree more and got to work ... Read more...
Literacy Connections: Save Your Halloween Costumes for Playtime
Don't put away those Halloween Costumes yet! It's time to make Literacy Connections! My daughter had a very descriptive idea of what she wanted to be this year for Halloween. She wanted to be Jessie from Toy Story. I'm not sure where it started from, as we've only watched the movie a handful of times, but something in that character "Jessie" sparked her curiosity and imagination. Two things we encourage in our house! Costumes are great for our Imaginations It made me start to think about ... Read more...
The Humbug Witch – a reading and listening activity for K-2
I believe that a good teacher not only does great activities with children, but also shares these activities with others. The following is an activity that has outlasted the printing of the book, Humbug Witch, by Lorna Balian, and has been done by many teachers for many years. At one school, a team of first grade teachers rotates the book between classrooms as they only have one copy and all the children have a chance to create their witch. Witch Themed Listening Comprehension ... Read more...
Baby Time: Snuggle Up And Read
Set aside time for reading every day with your baby — even if it's only a few minutes. Babies love books with bright colors, baby faces, flaps, textures or simple activities. You might find yourself reading the same book over and over, which is normal and good, they learn from repetition. Babies love when you add facial expressions, sound effects and voices for various characters. My advice is to set aside a special time every day in your schedule for storytime as ... Read more...
